PALAKKAD: Harith Noah is cruising, ahead of his fifth Dakar Rally. The rider, who competes for TVS Factory Racing, was in splendid form at the TransAnatolia rally, topping the B1 category (motorcycles up to 450cc category). The gruelling event was held in Turkey from September 2 to 9.
“My main objective is to compete in next year’s Dakar Rally scheduled to be held in January in Saudi Arabia. This win has boosted my confidence. I had chosen TransAnatolia in preparation for Dakar. Since 2020, I have already participated in four Dakar rallies. In 2021, I finished 20th, says the 30-year-old from Kullappully, Shoranur.
TransAnatolia 2023, from Samsun to Imzir, covered 2,350km. Harith finished the race in 17 hours, 9 minutes and 55 seconds. A five-time national supercross champion, Harith will compete in the Rally du Maroc in Morocco before leaving for the United States for training. Dakar 2024, the fifth edition to be held in Saudi Arabia, will run from January 5 to 19, said K V Mohammed Rafi, his father.
Speaking to TNIE, Harith, who is the third Indian to compete in the Dakar after K P Aravind and C S Santosh, narrated how he got into biking.
“I studied at KVR High School in Vaniamkulam till 7th standard and subsequently enrolled at the Sholai school in Kodaikanal. I developed an interest in motorsports in 2009 watching dirt races organised in the paddy fields of Thriputta, near my house. There used to events almost every month, unlike now when there are restrictions on such races. After winning my first national supercross title in 2011 in the SX2 category as a privateer, I was recruited by TVS Factory Racing in 2012.”
This year was particularly harsh for Harith, who suffered back-to-back injuries. “The first was a spinal injury suffered at Dakar 2023. Luckily, it was a stable T5 fracture and I just needed rest. Subsequently, I injured my wrist, for which I underwent surgery. The injury was so bad that a bone fragment remained after the first surgery. So I had to undergo another surgery to have it removed. But that did not prevent me from going all out at TransAnatolia, which was held just three weeks after my second surgery. I thank my team as well as my sponsors Red Bull and Stanley Tools and also my family for supporting me.”
In Shoranur, I used to practice at home as well as in the Bharathapuzha which helped me navigate desert and off-road conditions more effectively from an early age. I began participating in international rallies in 2018. My first race was the Rally du Maroc in Morocco, remembers Harith.